The Holy Church welcomes us all today with this invaluable greeting. "Enter, all, into the joy of the Lord," says to us with the Golden mouth of that great Patriarch of Constantinople, St. John Chrysostom.

She invites us all to the same Table, those who are first and those who are second, the rich and the poor, those who keep the faith and the tradition and those who show indifference. All are called today to enjoy "the banquet of the faith," the richness of the goodness of God.

The Church does not show partiality. The offering of God, made at the Resurrection, is "common" for all. It has objective value and basis. It means, first of all, the victory of Christ over death and Hades. It also means the victory of God over Satan, of good over evil, of truth over deceit, of love over hatred.

This victory is for all men, because Christ, as the Apostle explains, embraces all human beings. Christ was crucified for our sins and rose for our justification. This is why it is He who is waiting to meet us at the end of history.

As we acknowledge here God's infinite love and Great Mercy, so we rediscover the true path of our life. The Church invites us not to neglect such a great salvation, offered to us by Christ. She calls us to deliver our life to Him, to imitate and follow Him from the earthly to the heavenly kingdom with all the saints. She also calls us to embrace each other, to forgive one another, and to be united in our endeavor to do His will, because His grace and mercy are a common gift to all.

CHRIST IS RISEN!

My brothers and sisters, may we show in our life, to those near and those afar, that